Pals of two teenage drowning victims were faced with a question in a Junior Cert English paper about not being allowed to swim in an old quarry.

In the first paper of the State exams, students on page 16 of Section B of the paper were asked to select the correct word in the following sentence “I was not allowed/aloud to swim in the old quarry.”

Students countrywide sat the paper just two days after hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral of 15-year-old St Flannan’s College Junior Cert student, Shay Moloney in Ennis, Clare.

Six days before the exams, “brothers in arms” Shay and Ennis Community College student, Jack Kenneally, 15, died after getting into difficulty swimming in a disused quarry at Knockanean outside Ennis.

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The two boys were swimming with a group of friends and scores of local teenagers have been going to the lake to swim over the years.

This is despite signs at the entrance of the lands stating ‘Danger - Deep Water - No Swimming’ and ‘Danger Silt Pond, Deep Water, Keep Clear’.

Independent member of Clare Co Council, Cllr Anne Norton, described the question as “a huge coincidence”.

Fellow councillor, Mary Howard, added: “I spoke to a couple of parents of students who were friends of the two boys and doing their Junior Cert.

“The parents thought that the Junior Cert was a blessing in disguise and would act as a distraction to the teenagers grieving so it is hugely unfortunate that some of the friends of the two boys were faced with a question like this in their English exam, especially when they are still grieving over the boys’ deaths.”

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Cllr Norton said: “Yes, of course people will get upset about the question but the message does have to be brought home that young people shouldn’t swim in quarries or where there is no lifeguard cover.”

Cllr Norton acknowledged that the question was drawn up and the printing of the examination paper was done months before the tragedy.

At yesterday’s June meeting of Clare Co Council, councillors agreed to a vote of sympathy for the families of the two teens with Clare mayor, Cllr Tom McNamara (FF) describing what happened as “an awful tragedy”.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) was not in a position to comment on the appearance of the 'quarry' question in the Junior Cert Higher Level English paper last night.